Friday, 27 January 2012

Fantasy Poker: Official Prague Results

It's time for the ParadisePoker blog to doff our cap to another Fantasy Poker winner following our trip to Prague, with special praise going to the runner-up too.

He may have fallen short of claiming the €1,200 package on offer for winning our free game, but kewals75 claimed a Fantasy Poker first by naming eventual winner Nat Jarmonthavat in his team.

Even that 32-point haul was not enough to deny the aptly named Winforever, who like several previous victors, picked two players who finished deep into the money places.

German Heiko Kenning was the key, finishing 5th, while Demetris Triantafyilou was equally important even though he missed the final table by a single place in 11th.

In third was maya10 care of Ertan Aldikacti's 4th-place while Kenning's performance saw 87team and Muenster Storm complete the top five.

Well done to all 51 entrants who had a player get into the money - and with it the Fantasy Poker points. Make sure you join us for another game in Vienna this March!

Fantasy Poker Official  Results

Click to enlarge Fantasy Poker results

Wednesday, 25 January 2012

Sa SaZu-per! Players' Party pics

We treated our Main Event players to the VIP treatment in Sa SaZu during ParadisePoker Tour Prague and luckily our photographer was on hand to capture much fun being had!

Check out everyone enjoying a little private space and drinks on us...



Viewing on a smartphone? Visit our mobile-friendly gallery to see the Players' Party pics.

Monday, 23 January 2012

Recap: Comeback Nat claims Prague title

Jarmonthavat claimed €25,000
in a head-up deal 
Nat Jarmonthavat proved tournament poker’s oldest adage as he bounced back from the brink of elimination to claim the ParadisePoker Tour Prague title.

The road to becoming the first Danish winner since the tour began was far from smooth, as running battles between Piotr Sowinski, Ertan Aldikacti and later Milan Simko pushed Jarmonthavat to the fringes of the final table.

He fought on with a short stack for long spells but having seen his top pair hold up against the nut flush draw of Sowinski, the momentum carried him to victory.

A deal was done at heads-up, with then chip leader Simko taking a €28,000 share and Jarmonthavat €25,000, yet the battle for the trophy proved just how much both players coveted that first major title.

"It feels great to have won the ParadisePoker Tour Prague title,"  grinned the newly crowned champion, "This is my biggest cash and I have to put it down to patience. 

"Some of the players at the final table were just playing crazy, so I just had to wait it out. I was waiting a long time for the right moment but I knew I just had to be patient and keep on believing I could win it.

"I won’t be going out and spending my winnings on a crazy car or anything though – mainly because I already have a crazy car!"

While his winning hand of 10-6 off-suit was far from glamorous, pocket Kings played a leading role in Jarmonthavat's triumph over a 287-player field. 

"I had just over average stack at the end of Day 1 after I had a few big hands. The one I remember is re-raising with Kings and calling when my opponent went all-in. he had AQ but my pair held up and gave me a good size stack.

"Day 2 wasn’t so good, I had to fold for long spells but I made it to Day 3 and won another big pot with Kings again. That was really memorable because I got all-in with KK vs QQ and a Queen came on the flop, but the river saved me as it brought a King. That was crazy."

Day 3 was a long slog as three tables returned to the King's Casino, within the walls of Corinthia Towers hotel, but the adrenaline pushed our man on to a triumphant end in the early hours.

"I'm a little tired right now but to be honest I'm so happy I don't mind. Still, I'll probably celebrate by just going to bed!"

Marketing Manager Bryan Carroll was delighted with this year's visit to the Czech Republic: “We’ve been to Prague twice before but we’d like to thank King’s Casino and the Corinthia Towers hotel for extending us such a great welcome,” he said.

“We couldn’t have been happier with the superb organisation and seeing a field of 287 players join us for the Main Event, not to mention all our side event entrants, made this weekend another success story for the ParadisePoker Tour.”

ParadisePoker Tour Prague: Winner Pics

Nat Jarmonthavat claimed the ParadisePoker Tour Prague title for his own last night and his beaming grin told the story of just how much it meant to the friendly Dane.

Here's our photos from the decisive moments of the heads-up battle with Milan Simko, as well as some traditional - and not so traditional - winner shots.

Nat crowned ParadisePoker Tour Prague champion

Nat Jarmonthavat has been crowned our champion after the heads-up duel was won by arguably the worst starting hand he played all night, as 10♥6♣ trumped Milan Simko.

The chips had swapped back and forth between the pair, despite a deal having been done, but middle pair on the K810 flop proved enough for victory.

Dane Jarmonthavat had first taken the chip lead when he flopped trip Jacks, value betting his entire stack to take up a dominant position in the contest.

He was within touching distance when the pair next raced, his KQ looking in control against Simko's 5s after the board came JJ7-7, but a river 5 kept the competition alive a little longer.

In the end, both players were sufficiently exhausted to up the aggression and Lady Luck smiled on Nat. We'll have plenty of pictures plus an interview with our first Danish winner tomorrow, so come back and visit the blog soon.

Fantasy Poker results, meanwhile, will be announced by Friday, January 28th as they must be verified before our winner can be announced.

From Prague - it's goodnight!

Sowinski out in 3rd as dream comes to an end

Sowinski was 4th in chips at
the start of Day 3
Piotr Sowinski will have €13,346 to ease the pain of missing out on his PPT dream after yet another run-in with Milan Simko proved fatal.

The Pole had been the most aggressive force throughout the final table so it was little surprise that it was he who broke our latest deadlock, committing his stack pre-flop with A♣4♠.

Simko looked down at A♦8♦ and made the call and with the crowd on their feet to watch, the dealer rolled a 10♠7♣3♠-9♣-J♣ board to send Sowinski to the rail.

Our remaining pair are relatively evenly stack and so the inevitable deal discussions are now under way... let's see what they can agree on.

UPDATE - Our players have reached an agreement, with Simko set to take €28,000 and Nat Jarmonthavat €25,000.

They will now play for the PPT3 Prague title!

Big hands go the way of the short stacks

The chips have been swaying back and forth between our players the past hour with little sign of a breakthrough.

The key moments where tournament lives were at risk have twice gone the way of the shorter stack, with first Nat Jarmonthavat and then Piotr Sowinski doubling up when they might have departed.

It was at the latter's expense that Jarmonthavat finally rose above short stack status to become a factor in the battle for first place. The chips went in on a J♦5♦8♣ flop, with Piotr showing A♦7♦ for the nut flush draw but Nat's top pair held firm.

It was Milan Simko who financed Sowinski's own bounce back moment, taking his chances in calling his pre-flop all-in with KQo. An Ace on the flop saw the Pole double up.

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